A PSYCHIATRIC nurse who stabbed a man in a drunken row at a Limerick city apartment after trying to start a fire with a Liverpool soccer team scarf has been jailed for two years at Limerick Circuit Court.
John Michael Barrett (49) with an address at Cathedral Place in Limerick pleaded guilty to attempted arson and stabbing Patrick O’Dea with a bread knife at Cathedral Place on March 31, 2013.
The court was told that Barrett, who is originally from Liverpool, came to Ireland after working in the UK and Sweden but started drinking heavily after failing to find employment as a medical or psychiatric nurse.
He had been drinking with his neighbour Patrick O’Dea in Cathedral Place where they shared cider, beer and a bottle of rum. However a dispute arouse and Barrett went to his own apartment where he got a 9 inch serrated bread knife from the kitchen.
He returned to O’Dea’s apartment and set his Liverpool FC scarf on fire at the door in an attempt to flush him out of the apartment. When the door opened another row developed and Barrett stabbed Patrick O’Dea twice, once in the chest.
He returned to his own apartment and waited for the Gardaí to arrive. He was arretsed and admitted the offences while at the Garda station.
When arraigned before the court, he pleaded guilty and was released on bail. However he was later remanded in custody having failed to turn up for a subsequent court sitting.
Imposing sentence, Judge Carroll Moran said that arson was a very serious offence but it was made even more serious when the defendant went to his home and got a bread knife to stab the other man.
Mr O’Dea had recovered from his injuries and Judge Moran said that Mr Barrett could have ended up in a much higher court if those injuries were more serious.
However he had pleaded guilty at an early stage, had no relevant previous convictions and had shown a great deal of remorse.
Imposing a four year prison sentence, Judge Moran suspended the final two years and bound him to the peace for four years after stating that there was an element of Mr Barrett’s temper being out of control.
